organizational workplace learning. The conventional business model that had been a feature
of the jewelry industry for years based on leading manufacturers identifying trends and
products on the basis of intuition, for example, ‘I think pearls will be the trend this year’
and expecting the remainder of the industry to follow, was replaced with a ‘research-based
model’ (Gay Penford, interview, 4-11-05). This model was predicated on the idea that the
designers participating in the scheme, supported by the JIIC, should try to foresee trends by
identifying creative and cultural preferences that were emerging across the entire sector,
and then to incubate these preferences into new jewelry designs, by work closely with
manufacturers to feed their research findings into their design and production process, so as
to help companies to move their product range up-market.
To achieve this goal, newly qualified designers were offered: (i) access to a programme of
support to undertake and apply their research. The JIIC Project Managers guided the
jewelers through the research process, assisted them to translate their ideas for designs into
commercially viable designs, and convened monthly three-way meeting between the
designer, the company and the JIIC to iron out any problems (Kate Thorley & Zoe
Youngman, Project Managers, JIIC, interview, 4-11-05); (ii) in-company mentoring to
ensure that emerging designs combined creativity and practicality. Directors of the
participating companies acted as on on-site mentors for each designer by giving support
and advice as regards the advantages and disadvantages of fabricating different designs and
liaising with retailers to ensure that the designs were purchased; and (iii) an opportunity to
showcase their new designs to the local industry at the end of the project. Participating
companies were offered a way to foster a new designer-manufacturer-buyer relationship so
as to enable fresh British research-based designs to set new domestic and global jewelry
trends (Gay Penford, Kate Thorley & Zoe Youngman, interview, 4-11-05).
4. Methodology
Data for this study was collected primarily through semi-structured interviews
and attendance at Mentoring Sessions, supplemented by phonecalls and emails
whenever clarification was required. During the research period between
November 2005 and May 2007, with an intermediary agency, the Jewelry Industry
Innovation Centre (JIIC), three interviews were undertaken at the beginning,
middle and final stages of the project. Three Mentoring Sessions in which the new
jewellery designer, the Director of the jewelry company that hosted the designer and the
Project Manager of JIIC attended were attended. After each session, interviews with the
designer and also with the Project Manager were conducted separately. For triangulation
purposes, two interviews were undertaken with the Project Director, Birmingham CT, the
other intermediary agency. The role of these intermediary agencies will be discussed in
the later section. All interviews were recorded, summarised and analysed
thematically. One workplace observation was undertaken after the first Mentoring
Session.